U.S. Army medical researchers take part in World Malaria Day 2010, Kisumu, Kenya April 25, 2010. Photo credit: U.S. Army Africa, Flickr 2010, CC-BY2.0

Human

We're studying the human genome to better understand the genetic factors that help people to resist severe malaria – information that could provide vital clues about the molecular mechanisms of immunity and accelerate the development of an effective vaccine.

Our human projects aim to identify and better understand the changes in a person's DNA that could help protect them from developing severe malaria.

When we first started studying the human genome, we knew that a person’s risk of developing severe malaria is influenced by many different genetic and environmental factors, but we knew relatively little about their precise nature and how they interact. Scientific studies at the time were small and isolated.

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I've always believed that MalariaGEN is a model project. As far as science, the project is successful in terms of publications and those things that everyone can see but there are other aspects that are now showing – given the size of the data, the importance of the disease, and the capacity that has been built.

Projects

Consortial Project 1 investigates human genetic factors involved in resistance to severe malaria in order to better understand why, in regions where people are repeatedly exposed to malaria parasites, some people die from the infection while others survive.

Consortial Project 2 studied the human genetic factors suspected to influence the antibody response to malaria parasite antigens, with a particular focus on antigens that are being strongly considered for vaccine development.